Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday said that his government was actually holding peace talks with Pakistan and not with Afghan Taliban, emphasizing the importance of Pakistan in the fragile Afghan peace process.
“Pakistan can particularly play an important role in the restoration of peace in Afghanistan. Our peace talks are in fact, with Pakistan and not with the Afghan Taliban,” Karzai told visiting Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Sun Yuxi.
Sun arrived in Kabul Wednesday, days after Beijing nominated him as special envoy to the war-torn country.
“Foreign factors are involved in the Afghan peace process and that is why the cooperation of Pakistan and the United States is very important,” Karzai said, according to a statement posted on the presidential website.